Road safety professionals are being encouraged to make use of a resource which can help upskill and empower those who support children across the education sector with the knowledge and skills to deliver road safety messages.
The guide was created as part of a project carried out by Norfolk County Council, with the support of funding from The Road Safety Trust.
The focus of the Safer Journeys Ahead project was to offer teachers the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of road safety, what resources are available, create individual interventions that meet their aims, and embed positive, fun, and relatable road safety messaging within an existing school curriculum.
The project used a ‘train the trainer’ model, which allowed Norfolk County Council’s Road Safety Team to upskill teachers and teaching assistants. It was felt that those who support learning amongst children are in an optimum role to deliver road safety messages.
Evaluation of the project found that it led to:
- A growth in educator confidence.
- Improved road safety knowledge and understanding across pupils.
- The successful integration of road safety life skills into the national curriculum.
The practitioner guide, which is available via The Road Safety Trust website, is aimed towards local authority road safety teams, supporting them to deliver the training to educators in their area.
It guides users through the implementing stages of the training and Safer Journeys Ahead intervention, offer ideas and suggestions of work that can be completed by educators to instil road safety messages and provide links to useful resources/tool kits that are already available.
Ruth Purdie OBE, chief executive of The Road Safety Trust, said: “This practitioner guide can be an invaluable resource to road safety professionals, as they look to support those educating school children.
“It helps to upskill educators, providing them with the tools to deliver better quality road safety interventions.”
Laura Partridge, Norfolk County Council Public Health’s road safety manager, said: “We’ve been privileged to work with The Road Safety Trust, early years and key stage 1 teachers across Norfolk to develop this important project.
“Safer Journeys Ahead provides teacher training and coaching to help embed road safety in everyday learning at school in a flexible way, it acts as a building block for children to develop road safety resilience and independence, whilst also promoting healthier, safer, active lifestyles.”
Anyone interested in booking or finding out more about this session is encouraged to visit the Norfolk County Council website.
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